2024-03-27

Objectives

  1. To clarify substance of obstacles for wheelchair users and evaluate their influence
  2. To understand mechanism interrupting wheelchair user’s movement
  3. To obtain lessons for tourist-friendly environment

Methodology

@3 desitinations in Chiang Mai

  1. Organize survey team (2 pedestrians, 2 wheelchair users, and 1 photographer) and train them
  2. Record location per 1 sec. and speed using GPS logger while recording landscape
  3. Analyse the tracking data using statistical inference

Findings 1 Many obstacles affects spped and its fluctuation.

  • Minor obstacles including rough road surface, narrow walkway, street-parking car, and clouded road appear frequently and influence wheelchair speed.
  • It should be noted that faster movement does not mean better situation.

Obstacles

Doi suthep (left) and Downtown (right)Doi suthep (left) and Downtown (right)

Doi suthep (left) and Downtown (right)

Findings 2 Different average speed by course

  • Average speed
    • Higher: Temples (WCL and WPS) and Kad luang
    • Lower: Doi suthep
  • In “higher” areas, to head off cars and poor walkway, wheelchair need to move in higher speed.

Speed transition

Transition of speed in Tourists' hot spots. Dots in skyblue indicate observed speed; black line indicates estimated speed; and grey area indicates 95% CIsTransition of speed in Tourists' hot spots. Dots in skyblue indicate observed speed; black line indicates estimated speed; and grey area indicates 95% CIs

Transition of speed in Tourists’ hot spots. Dots in skyblue indicate observed speed; black line indicates estimated speed; and grey area indicates 95% CIs

Discussion

  • Rough-surface and narrow walkway and street-parking cars are likely to possible inhibitors.
  • In terms of speed, hump and hollow of road surface might increase speed and its fluctuation.. Accumulation of experience might influence their behavior.
  • Rough-surface walkway make them give up passing. \(\rightarrow\) Pass while avoiding cars \(\rightarrow\) Higher speed and fluctuation

Conclusion

  • Based on reproducible methodology and collaboration, we provided some insights regarding hospitality tourism.
  • Because of the environment, wheelchair tourists in urban areas tend to move faster, suggesting suggests that the wheelchair tourists might lose their opportunity to enjoy their tour.
  • Improving road surface and width of walkway might be helpful.

An ideal walkway

Wide, smooth, and low gaps from road

Appendix: Revised statistical model to confirm influence of the street-parking car.

For \(t\ (t=1,2,\dots n)\) indicating time (second) and \(i\ (i=1,2, \dots 6)\) indicating course, we can express our model given,　

\[ Y_{t} \sim Cauchy(x_{t}, \sigma^2_{y}) \\ x_{t+1} \sim N(x_{t}, \sigma^{2}_{x}) \\ x_{t} = x_{0} + x_{i} \\ \sigma^{2}_{x} = \sigma^{2}_{0} + \sigma^{2}_{i} \]

where \(Y_{t}\) denotes observed speed (Unit: Sec.); \(x_{t}\) denotes state of the speed, equivalent to intercept in regression; and \(\sigma^{2}\) denotes noise in this model.

Future plan

  • Obtain results of the revised model
  • Submitting some papers towards some journals
    • Tourism management
    • Current issues in Tourism
    • Journal of sustainable tourism